Staked!

by Candace Wondrak

  I flicked him off.

  Crixis turned humorless, not that he was witty to begin with, and said, “I’ve seen better—”

  As he spoke, I grabbed for it. My hand fumbled with the object before firmly sliding it on. I forced out a laugh. “It takes a village, right?” Crixis’s confused expression faltered, and a few moments passed before I added, “Or maybe that’s for raising kids.”

  Talk about awkward. I ruined my own one-liner.

  Minutes ticked by, but each minute felt like an hour, and because of that, it seemed like I would never escape from being underneath Crixis. He was warm for a Daywalker. The air was filled with shouts and screaming. The dresser against my door pounded over and over again, moving an inch.

  “You should not have called for the Council Agent,” Crixis said, once he dismissed the whole village and ring thing. “Everything would have been much easier.”

  “Forgive me if I don’t care about making things easy for you,” I spat out the words.

  “Oh, that’s all right. I spoke only of it being easier for you. I quite enjoy the hard way, myself.”

  I didn’t have a witty retort for that before my breath was forcibly taken from my lungs as Crixis was lifted up and off me. It took me less than five seconds to get to my shaky feet and stare in the brown eyes of my savior.

  As Crixis recovered himself, my rescuer ran a hand through his pitch-black hair. “Sorry to butt-in,” he said, not-so-apologetically to Crixis, glancing at me. His kind eyes recalled things to my memory that I thought I had forgotten.

  “Ah. It seems we will never have some time alone.” Crixis glanced from me to the man, to the new figure that flashed inside the window. “You do have many friends, it seems.” He blinked, eyes turning red. “A shame no one will be able to save you.”

  Rain stepped between us. He had faced him down before, after Crixis beat the crap out of me last time. “I beg to differ on that one.”

  “Me, too,” the other brother growled as he slid the dresser away from the door, letting it fly open and the crowd of people behind it file in. I paid no attention to the white cougar that leapt in the room, the flash Raphael created when he appeared by my side, or the urgency in Taiton’s facial expression. Surrounded by so many supernaturals, Taiton was probably crapping his pants, thinking I didn’t bring enough needles for this.

  I couldn’t even wonder what was going to happen to Claire and Raphael. I would defend them to him, to the Council—provided I lived that long.

  Everyone stepped toward Crixis; a miniature army on my side. I felt like stomping the floor and shouting Spartan-style.

  There was a hint of something in his maroon irises, something that I couldn’t place. Just as soon as it appeared, it was replaced with anger. Crixis spread his legs into a fighting stance, mirroring his stance in my vision.

  “Crixis,” Raphael warned, “look around. You are alone. It would be wise to surrender.”

  A sinister half-grin crossed his face, sending tingles down my spine. “A true warrior fights to the death—” There was a pause. “—but you wouldn’t know that, would you, Raphael?” With a gust of wind, Crixis was shirtless and in the process of unbuttoning his pants.

  “Stop!” Taiton commanded, lunging at thin air. The needle was more than ready to go, it was just that the act of shooting Crixis up with the liquid was harder than it looked. And it looked pretty hard.

  The first to glance behind us was the cougar-Claire, and the rage boiling in her eyes was unmistakable. Her icy glare met a red-eyed one. One that belonged to a six-legged black wolf. There was no longer a naked Crixis in the room—the black wolf took his place, and I wasn’t too sure that was a good thing.

  Suffice to say, this wolf was extremely fierce. Even though I’d seen it before, multiple times, it still stopped my heart. The black fur melted with the air, creating a surreal sensation. It was as if the dark fur dissolved into black energy that, in turn, faded into the surrounding air.

  It was clear to me that nearly everyone in this room expected the wolf to lunge at me, but I knew the second he rotated his head to face Claire that he had other things on his mind.

  In a blur of movement, the black wolf pinned the white cougar down. Black and white, yin and yang, but they weren’t balanced. Evil overtook the good easily.

  Claire never stood a chance. Sure, against a normal person, she would have done great, but Crixis wasn’t a normal person. He wasn’t really a person at all.

  Before anyone could make a move to get his snarling face away from Claire, he sent his razor-sharp teeth down, onto her neck. My no was drowned out by her ferocious roar. I tried running to her aid, but there was too much testosterone in my way.

  An ear-splitting howl rung through the room before Crixis flashed out of sight.

  “Claire!” I frantically yelled, pushing the men out of my way. Michael was in the process of covering her nude body with his over shirt as I fell to my knees. She shook, her face twisted. She was in agony.

  This was my fault. This whole thing was my fault. Crixis attacked Claire because of me.

  Blood seeped from the gaping wounds on her neck and onto the floor of my room. Lately my room saw way too much blood, but it’s not like I could help it. Blood and/or bloody situations always seemed to find me, especially when I was in my room.

  Her mouth fell open, and croaking sounds came out. Claire couldn’t form real words…why? I gripped her convulsing hand and squeezed, thinking something along the lines of: God, please let Claire be okay. Let her come out of this alive.

  My head flipped towards the three Daywalkers in the room. “Someone help her!” I demanded, not fully knowing what any of them could do. I knew their blood healed, I witnessed it myself that night in the cemetery, and I hoped that that would be enough to save her.

  Taiton set the needle back in the case, simultaneously saying, “We need to stop the bleeding. I will find the first aid kit.” The dark giant hurriedly walked out of the chaotic room, as if he knew where the first aid kit was.

  Michael rushed to his side, mumbling, “I’ll show you where it is.”

  Rain glanced from his brother to Raphael, who, if I remembered correctly, he’d only met once. “I’ll do it,” he muttered, flashing beside me. He blinked, letting his entire eyes become black and his teeth grow. Using his fangs, he bit into his wrist to let the blood flow freely. He held the dribbling wrist over Claire’s open mouth, making sure to land a good amount of the gooey substance in her throat.

  The older brother’s dark eyes held my gaze as he licked his wrist, healing up the bite marks instantly. There was something about his brown eyes that changed, but for the life of me, I couldn’t put my finger on it.

  We waited not-so-patiently for Claire to suddenly regain her natural color, stand up and say that she was fine, but we were immediately dismayed to realize that nothing happened. She wasn’t getting better. The Daywalker blood wasn’t doing a thing.

  Raphael was the one who put two and two together first. “She will not heal, regardless the amount of Vampire blood you give her.” I was about to ask why not when he continued, “A bite from Vexillion is fatal.”

  Wait, Vexillion? I knew I’d heard the name before. Koath told me about it when I was joking around about werewolves. Was Crixis Vexillion?

  “I’m sorry, Kass.” Raphael gently helped me into a standing position, his emerald eyes filled with empathy. “Your friend is dying.”

  “No,” I said, confident. “No. There has to be something we can do.” My heart didn’t want to believe it, but my brain knew the truth: there was nothing we could do. Soon Claire would die, and then she’d rise up as a Nightwalker, due to Crixis gaining power from those things he devoured.

  And then I’d have to do my duty and purify her.

  I’d have to purify one of my only friends.

  Chapter Sixteen – Kass

  Claire was going to die. She was bandaged up, lying on Raphael’s bed, unconscious, and dying because of me
and Crixis’s stupid obsession with killing and torturing me.

  As Taiton spoke to everyone and got their statements, I sat in a chair beside the bed, staring at my abnormally pale friend. This was torture.

  I’d rather have been on the receiving end of Crixis’s bite than Claire. I who should’ve been bitten, not Claire. Claire should never have gotten hurt on my account. What was I going to tell Steven and Max?

  “I’m sorry. If I would have known—” Rain stopped the moment our gazes met.

  “You couldn’t have done anything,” I regretfully said, taking the rag in my lap and wiping the sweat off Claire’s forehead. I had no clue how much longer she was going to last, so I had to be with her until the end.

  “I don’t know if it’ll help any, but I could bring Alyssa,” he told me, eyes drifting back to Claire. “She may be able to ease her pain, or maybe contain the bite’s toxins.” Rain stuck his hands in his pockets.

  “Do you think she’d be able to do that?” Hope suddenly welled in my chest. Alyssa was a powerful Witch, so maybe Rain was right. Maybe she could do something to help.

  He shrugged, not knowing either way.

  “When could you be back here by?”

  Rain answered me quickly, “Not long. Do you want me to bring her?”

  My eyes fell to Claire’s trembling hand. “It couldn’t hurt.”

  Turning, he placed a hand on my shoulder and said, “Don’t worry. We’ll figure something out.” After a gust of wind, he was gone, leaving me all alone with the comatose Claire. But not for long.

  “I take it that Kirk went to get Alyssa?” John spoke to me while staring out the nearby window. I’d say the chances of him looking me squarely in the eyes was slim to none. I didn’t want to look at him in the other world, and I didn’t want to look at him here.

  That didn’t stop me from eyeing up the blackness on his neck, remembering a time when his neck was black-free. Back before he saved me and Osiris’s evil light went into him. Back before I stabbed him. Back when things were much simpler.

  Truthfully, I never wanted to talk to John again. After all those things he did, I never wanted to see his face again, either. The pain of his teeth in my skin resurfaced on my neck. Getting bit wasn’t a fun experience.

  Pretending I was busy with folding and unfolding the sweat rag in my fingers, I avoided his dark gaze and nodded.

  “Kass.” John wandered closer. “I know there’s nothing I can say to make you feel at ease around me, but I want you to know that I haven’t done anything wrong since—”

  I threw the rag on the nightstand, instantly freezing him. I wasn’t about to listen to him drone on and on about how he changed, because deep down he was still the same John that murdered all those people. Nothing would change that. Storming out of the room, I said, “I don’t want to hear it.”

  John didn’t come after me. Not that I expected him to. I really couldn’t explain how I felt right now.

  Michael and Taiton were in the kitchen, discussing what steps they should take next. That’s where I headed, but for some reason, I slowed to a snail’s pace in the hallway. I was looking for any excuse to not face what was happening.

  Feeling a hand on my back, I spun to face Raphael, who must have snuck up on me in the hallway adjoining his room to the living room and kitchen area. Before I could respond, he wrapped me up in a hug that, despite his cold body, was full of warmth from affection. Did the guy not remember me trying to purify him?

  We stood in silence for the next few seconds, and I let him hug me. Whether the hug was for his benefit or mine, I didn’t know. All I knew was that I was tired, and I wanted it to end.

  The front door flew open, and newcomers to the scene walked in. One headed straight for where Raphael and I were.

  “Kass!” Gabriel was in the hallway, spotting me in Raphael’s arms. His expression darkened.

  I broke away from Raphael to gaze at Gabriel. If anyone should be hugging me, it should be Gabriel. But I was done with hugging. I wanted to fight something.

  “Are you all right?” Gabriel tried his best not to sound jealous.

  “I’m fine.” I mumbled. “But—” I paused, my hands turning to fists on my sides. “—Claire’s not. Crixis bit her. Gabriel.” I breathed out, “Claire’s going to die.”

  A shocked speechless voice managed to shakily say “What?”

  I closed my eyes, not wanting to be the one to break it to Max. I moved my head to glimpse past Gabriel. Max, the small red head, bug-glasses wearing, freckly-skinned boy, was wide-eyed and dazed.

  “Where is she?” Max was panicked. When no one answered him, for fear of being screamed at or for being speechless ourselves, he demanded, “Claire. Where is she?”

  Raphael was the one who responded, “In my room.”

  Without a second thought, Max ran past us, halting immediately. “No” was all he could say. “No, no, no!” His voice gained intensity. “Why…how did this happen?” His small eyes turned from hysteric to accusatory.

  “Max,” Gabriel warned, “I’m sure we’re missing something here—”

  “Bullshit,” Max swore for the first time, stunning us. “Crixis came here for her, not Claire. This is all your fault!” He raised a trembling finger in my direction. “Why didn’t you protect her? Isn’t that what we’re to do, protect civilians?”

  It was my turn to try to reason with the boy, “Max—”

  “No.” He shook his head. “Don’t Max me, Kass. I’m sick of this. You should have done the right thing and—”

  “You have no idea what you’re talking about,” Gabriel growled, though he had no idea what he was talking about, either. “Claire is—” He sealed his lips when I hit his side. My sign to him not to say anything.

  “Claire’s what?” Max angrily asked. His brown eyes were furious, scaring me. I’d never seen Max this enraged before.

  “Open your eyes, Max,” Gabriel yelled back, equaling if not surpassing his anger. “Claire’s isn’t just some normal human. She’s a Morpher.” His blue eyes glared at the outraged Max.

  “What?” Max stumbled backwards, tripping on the chair that rested beside the bed. “She’s a…a what?”

  “She wanted to tell you herself,” I muttered, eyes locking with the floor.

  Max closed his open mouth, saying, “Excuse me.” He said not another word as he sat on the chair I had just recently considered home. I knew from now on, until Claire died and turned, that would be his home, too.

  Hearing another pair of footsteps in the now-silent room, we spun to face Liz, who had a somewhat startled face. “Ah. So she’s a Morpher?” Her skinny fingers rubbed her pointy chin.

  I could feel my face warp from sadness to worry instantly.

  “Oh.” Liz shook her head. “You don’t have to worry about me. I won’t harm her.” The other people in the room, including me, grew relatively relaxed. “Though the Council will have to know.” She glanced around the room, her gaze soon landing on John, who leaned against the wall in a corner.

  Truthfully I didn’t even know he was there. Then again, it wasn’t as if I was looking explicitly for John, because I most certainly wasn’t. If I never saw him again, it’d be too soon.

  “I heard there were two of you,” Liz said, walking over to him and extending a hand. “I’m Liz, by the way.” She generated a heartfelt smile easily, even though the circumstances didn’t merit any kind of smile.

  “John.” He warily shook her hand, probably wondering why she was so friendly with him. After all, Liz had no idea that John was a Daywalker, along with Rain and Raphael. Taiton would probably tell her soon enough, though.

  “Where is the other one?” She glanced around the room, maybe expecting to find Rain leaning against the opposite wall.

  “Kirk,” John answered, “went to get our sister.”

  “Oh.” Liz seemed taken slightly aback. “Odd, Taiton said you were both in this room, and I don’t recall seeing him on my way in. I suppose it’s one
of those things that just can’t be explained, huh?” When the red-headed Purifier appeared, she set a hand on his shoulder. “How is she?”

  Max kept silent for a while, eventually mumbling, “How do you think she is?”

  “Try to not worry, Max,” Liz squeezed his boney shoulder. “I have Michael, Raphael and Taiton looking over every resource we have available to us. If there is an antidote to Crixis’s bite, we’ll find it.”

  They sure better find it. I didn’t want to lash out at everyone, especially since they were helping. Hopefully they would be successful, and if they weren’t, at least we had Alyssa as our backup.

  I was literally counting the seconds until Rain came back with her.

  Well, I’d come to a conclusion: life sucked. To be more specific: my life sucked.

  The couches in the living room weren’t as comfy as normal. They were harder and less plushy than I remembered. Maybe they felt like this because I knew Claire was dying. Maybe not. Who’s to say for sure?

  It didn’t help that I was constantly under the watchful eyes of Taiton. Now that he was done with the Council business, he was back to being my full-time bodyguard. Liz took his place in the book search, and now he was here.

  Max was beside Claire, just as we left him. Liz, Michael and Raphael were upstairs in the library rifling through every book, trying to find a cure for the bite. Gabriel was in the kitchen, eating. John was…well, I honestly had no idea where John was, and that was fine with me. I was no good at research. I’d only slow them down and waste their time.

  The ticking of the clock above the fireplace was abnormally loud. I could hear each individual tick as the seconds went by. That made me very sad, because it made the time go by slower. Much slower.

  I closed my eyes, wishing that the horrendous ticking would stop. It was ridiculous, I knew, because I wasn’t a magical being. I couldn’t stop time simply by wishing it.